The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book

This edition of The Jungle Book includes an introduction from Neil Gaiman, and stories from both the first and second books. It features all the stories about Mowgli and one not with him.

I seemed to have missed out on reading this in my childhood. I got the feeling I started this when I was younger but never got around to finishing it. I still very much enjoy reading young adult and children’s books. I think I will keep reading them, and I hope to always find them enjoyable like I did this book.

I really liked all the characters in the Mowgli canon even Shere Khan the lame tiger. I do seem to appreciate stories about anthropomorphic characters though especially in young adult literature. Authors tend to imbue them with charm, innocence, but wisdom at the same time.

There were some good stories about life, death, and the nature of the world. It was sometimes sad as it can be with realistic stories. I think this is a good book about Man on earth and human’s relations to the environment and animals. A book like this is always good to remind us of what our role on this planet should or could be.

I think this a good read for all ages, and I look forward to reading them again.

Read June 4th 2012. This was the first book read for the Classics Club.

7 thoughts on “The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

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  • Roof Beam Reader

    This is one of those books that I’ve always wanted to read but just never have. I guess I feel like it was a missed opportunity. It (along with Peter Pan and some other classic “boys” books) has been sitting on my shelf for years… I wasn’t a big reader when I was young, unfortunately, so I missed out on quite a bit, I think. I’ll still read them – but I can only imagine the magic they would have held for me as a younger reader.

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Roof Beam! I read a lot as a kid, but with myself as the director so I missed out on some classics too including this one. I agree that you do miss out on the innocence of reading this, but you still appreciate things. They are classics for a reason. I read Peter Pan as a child and loved it. I hope you get around to reading these children’s classics eventually because if you feel young enough, you can appreciate the beauty of these books. Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  • Fanda

    I already have a copy, but still haven’t read this. Maybe it’s because I have an idea that this is a children book which is usually very light. But reading your review, I think, despite of being quite light, it still have some moral values. Will read it soon! 🙂

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Fanda! I think many Children’s stories have a lot of value and are not always very light. This book is for more older children too. As an adult, our interpretation of children’s literature is different as well so we can read more themes, motifs and narratives that perhaps we couldn’t when we were younger. I hope you like it and thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  • FABR Steph

    I read this a long time ago. I should should revisit it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Best of luck with the classics challenge.

    Reply

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